Brief weekend jaunt to the beach from Central New York . . . to the coast?

Hi, everyone--long-time follower, first-time poster. I just did a two-and-a-half week first-time tour of the west coast with my buddy, and now I'd like to return to the eastern shore with a woman I just started dating, if only to claim I stepped in both oceans this summer. I live just outside of Syracuse, New York, and my lady friend doesn't have a lot of time this weekend--perhaps only a night or two. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on which beach/hotel/area would be best for this little trip. Bonus points for scenic views along the way or other attractions.

Close, Scenic, and Romantic

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Although I admit that my first inclination was to direct you to the beaches of Delaware as the nearest that you could get to a shore that was both warm enough for swimming and uncrowded enough to be enjoyable. on second thought I realized that Block Island might be a better fit for you. Reachable only by ferry and strongly discouraging motor cars, Block Island is close enough that you could reach it in 'about 5-6 hours from Syracuse if you followed the Thruway, MassPike, I-91 and CT-2/CT-85 to the ferry from New London. And that's actually a fairly scenic drive. However, note that the word 'cheap' does not enter into the description. If Block Island proves too costly when you look into it, then I would revert to my suggestion of the Delaware beaches, specifically Bethany Beach and Fenwick Island, reachable by a slightly longer drive (but no ferry) down I-81/I-476/I-95/DE-1.

Connecticut?

Thanks, AZBuck--I appreciate it and will look into Delaware. Unfortunately, finances are a factor. I just moved into my new place and *just* got a new car, so my funds aren't where I'd like them to be but I'm determined to make this trip.

I was looking at southwest Connecticut--the Mystic area and Harvey's Beach in particular. Can you or anyone else give me a head's up about this area right now? Should I be heading someplace further south? As I said, time will probably be a factor--I think we'll be driving out Friday afternoon and will probably only have Friday night before having to return late Saturday (not positive on this, but this is what I'm planning for anyway).

Tough Choice

The saving grace of this dilemma is that there is no bad choice, just two nearly equally good ones. If you are going to be spending a full day at your beach destination, then I might give the slight edge to Mystic which has both Mystic Seaport and the Mashantucket Pequot Museum as well as Abbott's Lobster in the Rough and Mystic Pizza. (Yes, there really is such a place!). While the waters off the Delaware beaches will certainly be warmer, there is not quite as much to do ashore.

Excellent--thank you! I think we're going to end up in CT for that reason--while both of us want to be *in* the ocean at various points, neither one of us are amazing swimmers so I imagine we'll want to be on shore doing things as well. Thanks for the advice!